Coronavirus could infect 44 million in Africa if containment fails, World Health Organisation says
- As some countries ease lockdown measures, new modelling highlights risk of potential crisis facing the continent
- Hospitals could be overwhelmed if spread of Covid-19 is not kept under control, UN health agency says
The study, released on Thursday by WHO Africa, looked at 47 countries with a combined population of 1 billion people and suggested smaller countries alongside Algeria, South Africa and Cameroon were at a high risk if containment measures were not prioritised.
So far Africa has not been as hard hit as other regions but its vulnerable health care systems and economies – as well as other ongoing health emergencies in some countries – have alarmed health officials. A March study by the WHO estimated an average of just nine intensive care unit beds per million people.
WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said nearly 1,000 African health workers had been infected with Covid-19.
“We know that most African countries already have catastrophic shortages of health workers,” she said.
While there have been successes – notably in Namibia and Seychelles where there have been no new cases for a month thanks to surveillance and isolation regimes – the WHO warned hospitals could be overwhelmed if numbers were not kept under control.
